Easy Living
by Snow-Nightshade
Summary: Brian, after a variety of hardships, found living in the apocalypse simple. Things were not easy, but they were simple. She had learned how to survive, but is surviving really living? With her psyche fracturing, Brian has found a few baby birds in need of protection from all who would hurt them in their nest called Alexandria. (A/N:Mentions Rape and Self Harm)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Come with me, and you'll be in a world of pure imagination. Take a look and you'll see into your imagination… We'll begin with a spin, traveling in a world of my creation. What we'll see will defy explanation… If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it…. Anything you want to, do it… want to change the world, there's nothing to it… there is no life I know to compare with pure imagination living there you'll be free if you truly wish to be… if you want to view paradise simply look around and view it… anything you want to do it, want to change the world… there's nothing to it."

A young, female voice broke through the silent morning. Her song a haunting melody compared to the original fun and happy song from Willy Wonka.

She swung her legs over an open ledge, one which could seriously injure her if she fell from. The ledge was a simple perch placed high in a tree, one which would normally be used for hunting but was now used to keep her safe and off the ground.

Her name was Brian White. It was a more masculine name than feminine, but she wore it proudly while also flaunting her femininity. That was to say, before the world went to shit.

Now, she was masquerading as purely male, so as not to chance coming across wandering men and getting raped. It had nearly happened before, only a few short weeks after the beginning of the apocalypse, and she wasn't chancing a repeat. Before, she had been barely surviving. Then, a group of three men had seen her with her California beach blonde hair with a swim suit model's body to match, and they had seen to trying their luck.

Now, from a fluke, Brian had killed the first man before they could tear at her clothes, and killed the second who had stood back in shock at having seen Brian shoot his friend dead. The third was angry at that point, and had fired his own shot at Brian. The bullet had scored a glancing blow to her hip while a second tore into the meat of her arm. She had only escaped the man at that point because the gunshots had attracted the attention of at least a score of the lurchers.

The man was soon torn to pieces and his wild gunshots and screams only allowed for the lurchers to be attracted to him over Brian. With this disguised blessing, she ran off, while clutching at her bleeding hip.

Now, with her blonde hair stained with dirt and braided up in a parody of a Viking's Mohawk, she looked a bit more masculine, though still quite pretty.

Brian had definitely learned a few lessons on surviving in this new apocalyptic world. Light attracts both the living and the dead. Sound attracts both the living and the dead. Smell attracts the dead. Signs of comfort attract the living which eventually attract the dead. Signs of food attract the living, which eventually attract the dead. The living don't live for long so don't get attached. The living can also be much more dangerous than the dead. The dead don't come near other dead. Sleep away from the ground up where neither the living nor the dead can find you. Use bullets only as a last resort. Always keep preservatives as long as possible and constantly search for more food. Keep spares of clothes but don't be unafraid to get new items as needed.

All of these lessons had made sure she stayed alive for as long as possible.

Now, with her carbon matrix compound bow in hand, she waited up in her perch and watched.

A few days after getting assaulted and nearly getting raped, Brian had raided a hunting supply store. The store had already been ransacked of most of its guns, but Brian wasn't at all confident in using guns. Especially as using her small handgun sent her into flashbacks of nearly having her clothes torn off as three men salivated over her. So, she had gone for the locked-up case full of different types of bows from longbows to crossbows to her compound bow, weapons which had been mostly passed over in favor of the guns.

With experience in using the deadly weapon, Brian was forced to practice for only a short amount of time as she had only ever used such a weapon for recreational activities. However, with necessity came experience. With next to no ammo, literally only the full clip in her hand gun plus exactly five other bullets carefully placed in a small pouch attached to her hip, Brian had focused on ransacking the hunting store for its entire stock of arrows. Along with the torn-out pages of a book on making her own arrows so she could replace the ones she currently had if needed as well as weapon care for her bow.

Then, while the store had been ransacked of its guns, it seemed that most people hadn't gone for the clothes or other supplies. She felt that the people had probably gone first for weaponry and food before thinking of anything that would be needed for long term use. Knowing the dangers of using tents, which she had seen dozens and dozens of little camps with torn tents where the lurchers had ripped through without trouble only to feast on the unwary occupants within, Brian instead chose something that would keep her off the ground and away from the clawing hands and biting teeth of the lurchers.

She chose to steal a perch. One which could easily be placed up high in a tree and secured well enough that there was no danger of falling to the ground. The equipment to climb any tree, even trees with no branches on the lower ten-twenty feet of the tree, allowed her to use any forest as a safe haven. A makeshift covering over the small perch allowed for safety from the elements such as rain or the eventual snow that would come with winter.

A hiking backpack, was carefully taken and used to store everything, everything which was carefully considered before being grabbed or discarded.

Before this, she had been weak. She had followed with a group of people and been safe until the lurchers had torn through a group of men. Afraid and terrified, she had run. As a result, she had been the only survivor. Then, she had found strength from surviving the three men who had nearly raped her. She had found the strength to stand on her own two feet. Strength which she hadn't had before, before when she was weak to where she wouldn't have survived without the strength of someone else watching over her.

Brian sighted a large buck, one with an impressive rack of antlers perched on its head like a crown meant for a king. With a careful breath, she pulled back an arrow knocked on the string. The feathers kissed at her cheek and her fingers brushed gently against her ear. With a pause, she waited until the pause in her own heart beat to release the string.

The large deer gave a loud, "Hurk!" and trumpeted out its death for just a moment before falling to the ground, dead. Its life blood trickled from around the arrow wound, the same arrow which had flown straight and true until it had found its place in the heart of the wild beast.

With care, Brian repelled down, and hiked over to the dead beast. On her belt were two knives. One for her own use and one for killing lurchers. She didn't know what was causing the dead to rise back up but she sure as hell didn't want to eat from a knife contaminated with lurcher blood. With the knife she used for her own personal use, Brian quickly did a messy skinning job of the animal before cutting out plenty of the meat which she would use.

She was silent and quick. Taking care to listen to her surroundings so as to not be caught unawares by a lurcher that might be lurking around in search of food. She wrapped up as much of the meat as she could carry in a cloth bag, one which she used often for this same chore, and rolled up the skin which could eventually be dried out for her own use.

Trial and error had been a large part of hunting in the beginning for her, mainly since she had never truly hunted a day in her life before the apocalypse had started. Now, with quick strides, Brian walked back to her tree and used the rope climbers to make her way back up the tree which she had made her temporary home in. With a bag dripping blood slung over one shoulder, Brian sat down in the perch and pulled apart a small metal grate which was hung from the branches of the tree she was camping in. With all her supplies in the tree with her, it was simple to grab the spare wood which had been foraged beforehand to light it up on the metal grate.

A merry little fire began which Brian than used to carefully cook and dry out most of the meat to make it into a dry sort of jerky. A jerky which could just be eaten as is, or be added to some sort of stew if fresh meat couldn't be found. While the meat was cooking, Brian pulled out a small notebook and began looking over plenty of the different songs written within. With a hum, Brian began miming the words to one of the sea shanties written within while she used her personal knife to carefully peel the fat, meat and veins from the skin of the deer.

After raiding the hunting store, the store where she had packed her hiking bag with plenty of outdoor styled clothes (which included tan colored cargo pants and steel toed boots that went to her knees), a forest camouflage patterned sleeveless hoodie, a snow camouflaged patterned jacket that was tied around her waist, a beanie cap for winter, gloves, and a pair of sunglasses, Brian went to a library. There, she had stuffed her pack full of survivalist guides and how-to guides.

Some of those books had been discarded as useless or repetitive, but most had been useful and even life-saving. Brian now had her own notebooks, only three, which were used to keep herself from going crazy since she was all alone.

The first book thick and it was filled with tons of little leaves stuck with glue, herbs in carefully packaged wrappings, taped flowers, crushed berries, nuts, and seeds all in little bags taped inside with added drawings and writings to signify danger or helpfulness. Poison Ivy and Poison Oak were each carefully packaged in a clear plastic bags and taped to the very first page with clear warnings written on the page. Poisonous berries and plants were carefully crushed flat and placed in plastic bags with warnings clearly labeled. Helpful herbs, flowers, and berries were documented and placed inside the notebook for future reference, especially since one of the books Brian had gotten was a book on herbs used in herbal remedies that worked naturally without the use of manmade chemicals.

The second book was filled with songs, poems, movie lines, quotes, debate questions, book lists to read, checklists, rules of survival, tons of little drawings, actual pictures taped to the pages, and anything else that randomly made its way onto the pages of the notebook.

The third book was a massive diary. Brian had never had a diary before the apocalypse, but writing down her experiences seemed to keep her from going insane in an insane world. Every day, Brian forced herself to write inside her diary, even if for only a few lines. She filled every page before moving on to the next one, not wanting to waste an entire page for only a few sentences when she didn't know exactly how long she would be alive to write in its contents, be it a single year or until she was old and grey.

With the all the contents of her survival, her pack was heavy. This included the small platform made from aluminum, the small steel grate used for fires which was tiny enough that Brian felt it was cost effective to lug it around with her than leave it behind and need it. She had over a hundred feet in rope wrapped in a tight coil on the side of her backpack, a climbing tool to climb any tree or power pole. Continuously growing larger was a massive container of medical supplies which were constantly being added to for the 'just in case' scenario.

She had many containers and bags for consumables which included cans and jars of food, dozens of small bags for various herbs, a large camelback for three liters of water, two extra canisters of water, and a water purifier for quick access to clean water. For comfort, Brian carried around a thick blanket, a pillow, and a simple hammock while a rain poncho and multiple dried furs from varying animals were used for anything she might need it for.

There was a container of fifty arrows tied to the other side of her pack while a quiver of twenty arrows for quick access that hung on her belt. Her hand gun which was strapped to her thigh, her two knives both which hung on her belt, the five spare bullets in the small pouch on her hip. Her bow, however, was normally always in her hand instead of slinging it over a shoulder where it might get caught up in her gear. There was also a disgusting container of lurcher guts that helped to keep the lurchers from being attracted to her that was sitting on top of her pack so it could be opened and closed easily. The pack also held her spare clothes, a pot and skillet, a fork, a spoon, a cup, a bowl, a flashlight with spare batteries, a multitool Leatherman, two lighters, a few bars of soap, and a small iPod with a small crank charger so she could listen to five minutes of music after cranking for twenty minutes. Her pack had to weigh nearly a hundred pounds, and that was being generous.

Luckily, the weight of her pack had started out light enough for her to carry. Then, as time went on and she added needed items to her pack, it grew heavier but not so heavy that she couldn't adjust to the weight. Luckily, she had grabbed a hiking bag that was durable and would last her years and years. With time, her strength and wits sharpened until the lurchers were no longer a threat but more of a nuisance. It was still the living who she was now still wary of, because they could still trick her with honeyed words that hid their poison tongue.

"Far over the Misty Mountains cold, to dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away, ere break of day; to find our long forgotten gold. The pines were roaring, on the height; the winds were moaning, in the night. The fire was red, it flaming spread; the trees like torches, blazed with light."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Brian packed up quickly, all heavy items going to the bottom of the pack (with the small perch being strapped underneath the backpack as it wouldn't fit inside) with the lighter items or more needed items on top. The disgusting container holding a bits and pieces of lurcher guts was opened but only so much as the smell was able to get out. It didn't much bother Brian any longer, especially since she had been splatter with the disgusting stuff before. The smell just assured that the lurchers wouldn't be attracted to her by smell, even as she had learned how to swiftly and silently move through the forest with nary a sound.

It was still warm out, though it was soon to get cold since Brian could tell that it was nearing October from the dates that she marked down in her diary. Her hoodie had seen some use at night time, especially after a cold front came in with a series of rainstorms that Brian had been forced to camp on the ground lest she be thrown from the tree by high winds.

Her stash of furs were finding more and more use in things, especially since she was crafty with their use. Having read multiple survivalist guides, she had grasped the importance of the fur for different uses. She hadn't need the furs for much yet, but she was determined to hole up in a high animal traffic area during the winter, and the furs which she was slowly accumulating would allow for a major amount of warmth when there was snow up to her knees. However, one major use she had already found a use for was using the furs for a makeshift armor. She had created thick leather 'pants' that were tied tight around her legs but over her cargo pants so no lurcher could take a meaty mouthful and infect her. She had also created leather sleeves that tied around her arms just over the long-sleeved shirts she normally wore. The last bit was a leather jerkin that tied mostly over her shoulders and torso with a thick leather that was tied tight in all areas so it was form fit under any heavy clothing but with just her shirt underneath.

Brian held out her bow, five arrows clipped into the small quiver attached to the bow itself, and an arrow permanently held to the string as she walked along the deer tracks. She wasn't purposefully hunting anything at the moment, she was just walking along and only had her weapon out and ready for the 'just in case' scenario.

Her blonde hair had been braided tightly, though it formed a massive Viking like braid on top of her head that ran to the nape of her neck before being tied off to let the strands loose. Dirt smudged her nose, not that she cared, and her brown eyes were simply hidden behind her sunglasses. Brian would admit that she wasn't Miss America, but she was pretty with high cheekbones and arched eyebrows. Her button nose was situated perfectly straight and between large doe-like eyes and above a cute little pair of lips. Though with the habit she had of licking her lips and chewing on them so they were dry and chapped while being a plain color in need of some lip balm.

Also, in her teen years, as she was currently 28, she had a major problem with acne so there were some residual scars marking the sides of her jaws though it wasn't entirely noticeable. Along with acne scars, she had perpetually oily skin that annoyed her since her forehead constantly shone as though it belonged to some greasy teen with blackheads that just covered her little button nose though they luckily never turned into pimply little whiteheads.

She wasn't perfect, but in this apocalyptic world, she was practically a supermodel with her skinny figure and perfect teeth.

The bushes rattled next to her but Brian ignored it as she could hear the tell-tale rasping of a lurcher even as it staggered out of the bushes and ignored her completely. Having tested the smelly container of lurcher guts beforehand, Brian was confident that no lurcher could detect her as long as she didn't make any sort of obvious sign that she was alive such as a loud noise not consisting of footsteps or moans. The lurcher was badly decayed, with bits and pieces having fallen off, and it just continued on its merry way without a problem in the world.

With a quick step, Brian pulled on the arrow still knocked on her bow and let it fly the few short feet into the lurcher's skull. One less lurcher in the world. She didn't often let the lurchers be free to hurt someone else, she killed them as soon as she could or as soon as she was able without possibly bringing danger upon herself. She didn't find any point in letting a single lurcher go when it could join a pack or sneak up and kill someone.

Having been on the road for over three months, Brian was searching for a place to hole up, especially as lurchers had been out in the forests more and more. She suspected the lurchers that had been in the cities were moving elsewhere in search of a new food supply, 'food' which had abandoned the cities _because_ of the packs of lurchers. With sure steps, she grabbed the arrow and pulled it from the confines of the lurcher skull. With a quick swipe, the black sludge (that had originally been red blood when the lurcher had been alive) was wiped on the ripped and torn clothes of the now dead lurcher so she could knock the arrow back on her bowstring without covering her bow nor her hand in lurcher blood.

Continuing on wasn't difficult. She just hummed a little ditty to herself and continued on her merry way, probably looking quite insane as she hummed, grinned, and kept her bow prepped with an arrow. The woods were thick and allowed for plenty of cover, it also allowed for tall and thick trees that permitted the use of the perch for safe refuge.

A few rabbits crossed her trail, fleeing from whatever had frightened them, and Brian just ignored the small animals as she had almost more meat and other foodstuffs than she could feasibly carry. As it was, her pack was so heavy that she couldn't run more than a few yards before the weight got to her and made her wheeze like some sort of lurcher. If need be, she could slide from the arms of her pack to allow for free range of movement, but she wasn't going to willingly give up her backpack when it was her lifeline to surviving in this wretched world.

The days blurred together, though they were constantly marked in her diary, and the warm fall air turned to cold winter. Her supply of food was well kept and rationed with careful planning lest she run out before she could resupply. Her water supply wasn't too much of a worry since there were constantly little streams, rivers, lakes, water reservoirs, and other water to supplies to fill up at. When snow began, it wasn't thick, but it alluded to a cold winter. Brian figured she would be as snug as a bug with her winter jacket, beanie and gloves. Many of the animals had hunkered down for winter, half hibernating though they still popped up now and then for some food. She was grateful that she had already collected a massive supply of food items that could be carefully rationed so that she always had something to eat for the day.

She hadn't found any place to hunker down, not likin the lurcher infestation that was going on with the forests around her, and made her way through a small residential area. The houses were few and far between, but they looked as though they hadn't been ransacked before, which was lucky as it allowed for Brian to find some food items of her own without having to dip into her carefully rationed supply in her backpack.

With ease, Brian lifted up her bow and knocked on the door. Waiting a few seconds allowed for any lurchers to come towards the door in search of the source of noise. When nothing came banging at the door, Brian entered after breaking through a window as she didn't have the strength to actually kick open the door. With careful steps, Brian scouted out the building for any hidden lurchers before even daring to contemplate ransacking the place for anything useful.

Once she was confident in being alone, Brian entered the kitchen and grabbed the plentiful cans of leftover food before looking around for anything else. With a bit of effort from a handy dandy multitool Leatherman, a can of pork 'n' beans was opened while a spoon was taken from a drawer for her to eat from. With a full belly, Brian made her way up to a bedroom where she collapsed on the comfortable mattress of the master bedroom. She didn't bother getting undressed as though but she simply set her backpack on the floor next to her. With a groan, she got up and secured the doorway with cord, not worrying about downstairs since she had only broken the window not gone through any sort of doorway.

Sleep came easily and Brian woke up the next morning to the sound of some sort of distant engine grumbling as it made its way slowly down the residential street. It was bright out already and Brian didn't bother getting up until she heard the motorcycle stop completely just a few houses down. Alarmed, Brian got out her bow and looked out a window to see a handful of vehicles all parked outside a house farther down the lane.

The people were normal looking, but Brian didn't dare go out and meet them. Not that she wanted to or anything, especially as she hadn't had true human companionship in a little over five months. Months which just seemed to bleed together.

She watched silently as the group made their way from house to house until she saw a man holding a crossbow point to the building she was in, and gesture for silence. Guns were unholstered and various other weapons were drawn as the crossbowman pointed out the broken window. Brian quickly set her pack on her back, buckled the straps around her waist and chest, before walking out of the bedroom with her bow drawn and pointed down the stairwell.

A loud crash signified the door being kicked open even Brian didn't move an inch, keeping her weapon pointed down the stairwell towards the group of people invading her little makeshift sanctuary. A sanctuary that she had only stayed in because she had been running low on canned goods as hunting had been slim for the past two weeks, plus the bed had called out to her with promises of a comfortable and warm rest.

With a creeping lope, the crossbowman entered her sights and he froze at the sight of her already aiming her arrow at his head. "Rick!"

Another man came into view, this time holding a handgun. He purposefully raised his gun and aimed it, this had Brian switching her target from the crossbowman to the former cop. She could easily tell the man had been a cop from his bearing, which was even more easily discernable since she had known quite a few people in both the police and in the military.

"I don't care who the fuck you think you are, but you don't come near me and I don't put an arrow in your skull." Brian said clearly, keeping herself tense. "There's food in the kitchen, help yourself. Leave me the fuck alone."

"We don't want any trouble–"

"I could fucking care less. Don't come near me, and we won't have any problems."

The crossbowman had his weapon already raised and aimed, his finger already on the trigger only waiting for any sign of aggression.

"I stay up here, and you don't step foot on the stairwell. I will leave you alone as long as you leave me alone, if you try coming near me, I will kill you where you stand."

The man named Rick raised his hand as if to calm Brian down, but she was too tense to calm down near the presence of men. Men had nearly raped her, and so as far as she was concerned, men were not to be trusted unless they proved themselves.

"Fine, we'll do it your way. We didn't come here to hurt anyone, we just wanted to find food and shelter."

Brian backed away slowly, but kept her bow aimed at the man's head. "Stay here for all I care. You can even take all the food in the kitchen, you clearly need it." It was true for what she was seeing, the two men were almost unhealthily thin with their bones standing out in sharp relief.

Rick gestured for the crossbowman to lower his weapon while also lowering his own gun, "We'll collect the food and leave as soon as possib–"

"Rick!" a voice screamed out, the high pitch seemingly like nails on a chalkboard to Brian who wasn't really used to hearing another person speak after so many months on her own.

"Lori!" Rick called back, "We're inside!" He didn't take his eyes of Brian but his hand stayed at his hip, gripping the gun he had only barely placed in its holster.

Before Brian's eyes, an entire horde of people just seem to crawl out of the woodworks. They were all thin, all in need of a good meal, and they were all covered in sweat and dirt. What captivated Brian was the sight of the screeching woman who was clearly pregnant. Her belly seemed almost grotesquely swollen even as the rest of her body was bordering anorexic. Brian knew immediately that the babe must be sucking the life out of its mother even when the others in the group probably handed over a good portion of their scavenged finds to the woman.

"Rick, there's a herd of walkers coming our way!" An Asian man stated, carefully holding his weapon while keeping his eyes on Brian.

Another woman came forward to speak, dark brown hair chopped to just below her chin, "Must be a couple hundred of them, at least!"

Rick turned and walked away completely, ignoring Brian as a nonthreat at the moment in comparison to the undead that was slowly making its way through the residential area. The crossbowman kept his eyes trained on Brian but payed more attention to the obvious leader of the group.

Brian, using her hearing, could easily hear the undead lurcher horde slowly migrating its way through the small residential district. She could hear the groans and shuffling footsteps of the lurchers who were migrating in a massive pack in search of fresh meat.

"Don't leave the house and barricade the doors, but do it silently." Rick hissed to his group as they all split up to secure the house.

Brian scowled but she could definitely understand that they were being forced to stay in the same building do to annoying circumstance. She sighed, "I'm staying in one of the rooms. Don't enter it. The rest of the building is yours."

With an angry scowl, while mumbling incoherently to herself, Brian quickly stepped back to go back to the master bedroom where she had slept in only an hour before. With quick thinking, Brian barricaded the door with a massive chest and went right back to bed, her pack back on the floor but in easy reaching distance. She didn't bother looking out the window, at least not until she heard a gunshot that came from a street over.

"Shit!" Brian exclaimed before running over to the window. The herd which was just going to pass on through had stopped and swarmed whatever building the gunshot had come from. Now, instead of passing on through in a short amount of time the horde would probably stick around for days before moving on. Though, instead of them all moving on, the horde would probably be leaving behind dozens of stragglers who would make the formerly safe residential area a hazard to be in.

She could hear more gunfire than the screams of people, no matter how muffled, while the horde convened on its prey.

With a sigh, Brian went right back to bed, ignoring everything in favor of getting some more sleep. Sleep was preferred for now than twiddling her thumbs in boredom. So, she caught up on her sleep.

Waking up, it was late afternoon, and Brian felt as though her bladder were about to burst. With a peeved look, she didn't find any sort of in suite bathroom and so was forced to unblock the doorway and head out of her room. She silently shuffled across the walkway until she came to the doorway where the bathroom was located.

She knocked carefully, and without hearing anyone call out, she entered in as quick as she could. Unfortunately for her, the gruff looking crossbowman had been standing guard in a small but comfortable alcove, keeping watch on her room. While Brian used the restroom, he jumped down and raised his weapon so it was pointed at eyelevel for when Brian finally stepped out of the bathroom.

With a contented sigh and an empty bladder, Brian opened the doorway to exit the bathroom but was halted as she viewed the weapon pointed straight at her.

No words were spoken as Brian carefully maneuvered her way around the man, who kept his weapon steadily trained on her. She slowly walked backwards until she came to her doorway and entered the room, her eyes staring unblinking at the man's own glaring ones. The second she was safe behind the door, she barricaded it once more with the chest and flopped down on her bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Five days later and the bulk of the horde had marched off in search of more food while dozens were left behind just standing around in that odd hibernation they entered when food was scarce.

Brian's food was running low and so she was planning on heading to some sort store that might have supplies left. Having run through 75% of her food supply through the slim pickings of the weeks before and the total reliance through the last few days. She hadn't dropped to that low of a level of food since she first started truly learning how to hunt, that was when she had been totally dependent on what she could scavenge from homes and buildings.

So now, seeing that the area was clear of such a large horde of walkers, Brian packed up and got ready to leave. Her underwear and bra were changed, a new shirt put on, pants carefully fit with her belt around her waist. Her boots tied tight with clean socks over her freshly washed feet while her leather armor was first tied tight around her legs. The leather jerkin was fit over her upper body, the ties tied from neck to navel, before leather was tied around both her arms. With her hoodie slipped on, her hair braided, her beanie cap low over her ears and her sunglasses perched on her nose, she was ready to go.

With ease, she swung her backpack onto her back and clipped the straps on her hips and over her chest tightly so that the backpack was fit snug to her back and nothing shuffled around to throw her balance off while her Leatherman was set in a small pouch on the strap of the backpack on her shoulder. Her two knives were fit in their sheathes on her belt and the gun was quickly checked before being reholstered. Finally, Brian picked up her bow and began making her way out of the room that she had camped in for the last five days. Her arrow quiver was strapped to her pack in such a way that the arrows could easily be grabbed but she didn't have to worry too much since she had the five arrows clipped to the bow itself.

Brian made her way out of her room, carefully eyeing the crossbowman who she still didn't know the name of. He was camped in that same alcove that she had seen him in throughout their stay in the house, and she watched as the near silent click of the door closing made him jolt awake out of his bare doze. He clutched his weapon close, finger just itching to pull the trigger, and eyed Brian with a glare as she walked near silent across the hallway and down the stairway.

He gave a growl, sounding like he had gargled glass shards when he was younger, or, Brian looked at the outline of a cigarette pack in his chest pocket, he smoked and it had affected his voice. She waited a bit for him to get down from the alcove he had been sleeping in, letting him watch her as she left the building completely.

The man kicked at the leader's, Rick's, leg to wake the man up as they passed the man sleeping on the carpet downstairs. Rick jolted awake at the kick, his hand automatically reaching for his gun, before he saw who had woken him up and what was happening.

He stood up swiftly, but kept his gun out as he watched Brian with a hard look. "You don't have to leave; you could stay with us for a while longer." Rick finally stated, seemingly having been thinking about this over the past five days. Brian had been polite and she had stuck to her room as often as she could unless she was forced to the restroom. She hadn't tried to steal from them nor had she tried to hurt any of the group, so he was definitely willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"No, I'm just heading out. It was nice meeting you Rick, beware of the living because while the dead are dangerous, the living will get you to trust them before stabbing you in the back. If we cross paths again, I might say 'Hi' but I doubt it." Brian said while gripping her compound bow a little tighter. "You and your group are better people than a lot of others living in this world now."

Brian turned towards the back door and opened it carefully and silently before swiftly running out. Her feet were silent, barely any sound as she ran past lurchers who tried following her as she represented fresh meat.

"She could have stayed?" Daryl asked Rick as he lowered his crossbow, watching as the woman ran past dozens of walkers without a flinch.

Rick nodded, also watching as the woman continued on running, not bothered by the walkers who still represented a huge threat to his group. "She reminds me quite a bit like you."

Daryl scoffed and shut the door before securing it. He then took out a cigarette and chewed on the end though he didn't light it, he was aware that smoking could harm Lori and the little sprog growing in her belly.

Brian had run until she couldn't run any farther, which was still quite a distance since her pack was considerably lighter with its low food content. Having looked at a map she held in her pocket, Brian knew a large town was nearby and she was hoping that she could find someplace to steal food from.

Walking along the highway was nerve-racking, empty and burnt out cars littered the road, lurchers stood around and seemed to patrol the streets like a mockery of law enforcement. Luckily, she had broken out her container of lurcher guts so the decayed smell permeated the air around her, disguising her scent. She eyed the buildings carefully and ignored the obvious supermarkets such as Walmart and Albertson's, but instead searched for some place less obvious or a place such as Costco.

She grabbed out a small bag of jerky, made from an animal she had hunted on her own, and chewed on the bland strips of meat. It was chewy, so chewy that she was forced to chew on one piece for a good five minutes before being able to swallow but it kept her mouth occupied and her hunger at bay.

Finally, after having walked down through the majority of the large town, she came upon a Sam's Club right near the edge of the town. It was situated right next to a Walmart, a movie theater, and a few fast food joints but it was also just teeming with lurchers roaming around.

With the heavy scent of decaying lurcher around her, she was left alone by the few dozen undead just hanging around. She walked past the haphazardly parked cars, some covered in camping equipment and others stuffed full with suitcases, but she focused on getting to the massive building. Once at the front doors, she was forced to shove open the sliding doors as the electricity had cut out long ago and so the doors no longer opened automatically.

Inside there were handfuls of the lurchers roaming around and everything seemed to have already been ransacked. However, with a single look around, most of the food items that were wrapped on pallets and placed on the higher shelves were untouched and just ripe for the picking. Brian suspected that most people who had tired coming here were either killed by the large and dangerous amount of lurchers roaming around both inside and out, and those who lived only went for the easily reachable items.

As she wasn't too worried about the lurchers near her, Brian went searching for a ladder. Using the ladder, which had taken around ten minutes to actually find, she began searching for pallets that would actually be of use to her. Plenty of packages of food were found, cans of various brands were found and collected while all the rotting food items were avoided like the plague.

With a grin, Brian actually set up her hammock to hang high above the ground between two different shelving units. She could definitely live here for years. It aloud her a safe haven with a roof over her head and a constant source of food.

For now, she cleaned up the inside of all the lurchers still shuffling around and barricaded the various doors until the only way in and out was through the roof. The building was practically perfect, it had thick walls and a roaming pack of lurchers hanging around that deterred any living people form coming near and trying to steal everything.

After a day of good food and rest, Brian made her way outside with her pack full to bursting with food all the food items she could want. Everything had been taken out of boxes and carefully placed in her pack to allow for the best use of space. She literally had over a hundred different energy bars, chocolate protein powder packets by the hundreds, and more canned foods than she could carry.

So, with a sigh, Brian went outside to look for a vehicle with the keys already in the ignition. One skill that she had yet to figure out was how to hotwire a car.

Without further ado, Brian filled an SUV with as many supplies as it could feasibly hold and drove off to the last location she had seen that group of people in.

She probably wouldn't stick around however seeing a pregnant woman, a woman with an unborn child in this apocalyptic world. It had struck a chord in Brian that she had known existed. With as much speed as she would dare, Brian went back to that group she had seen. The same group that just seemed to barely be surviving.

It barely took a half hour before she was back and her luck was with her now, especially since she could see the archer's bike still outside the house. With ease, Brian ran over a few lurchers before parking at the curb.

She got out, settled her backpack on her shoulders, tied a red handkerchief on the SUV's radio antenna, and walked to the front porch. Brian didn't bother knocking or alerting those inside to her presence, but she just tied a second red handkerchief to a banister before leaving completely.

With a look to the sky, Brian cut across the street and headed into the woods heading north. As of now, she wasn't in search of any place to hole up. Just that night staying with the group had reminded her how dangerous it was to stay in one place. She couldn't assure her continued survival if she were trapped by a horde or found by a group of other survivors who weren't as nice as Rick and his group. Sticking to residential areas had reminded her that other people did the same thing, that they didn't go off into the woods were lurchers could be hiding.

So, with that lesson in mind, Brian left off without a backwards glance. Maybe, with winter snow, the lurchers would be frozen until the thaw and she would be relatively safe for a few months the farther north she went.

Rick was honestly shocked by the vehicle just filled to bursting with various food items and other much needed supplies. He looked to Daryl who was reading a note found on the dashboard of the vehicle and looked over the hunter's shoulder to read as well.

'If we crossed paths again, I told you I might say 'Hi' but I didn't. You and your group are better people than a lot of others living in this world. All this food was found at the Sam's Club just on the outside of the nearest town, though it is surrounded by a large group of lurchers so be careful. See you around, Rick Grimes.'

Daryl snorted after he finished reading the note and looked through the tinted windows of the SUV. He could see so much food and other stuff that he was surprised the axle hadn't given out with the weight. It was Glenn who opened the back and gave a relieved laugh as the first thing he could see were a few dozen large cans of baby formula and baby food along with dozens of granola bars. He quickly began grabbing various canned goods that could quickly be cooked for the group but stopped when he noticed a massive pot that had its lid tied on as if to keep anything from spilling.

A note was attached to the top, 'eat me.'

Glenn laughed and called Rick over, "Look at this!"

Rick jogged over with Daryl, both ready for anything, and were surprised as Glenn pointed out to them a massive pot of what looked to be something already cooked. "Breakfast is served, boys!" Rick grabbed the still warm pot and carefully lugged it inside.

Glenn ran ahead to round up bowls and plates for everyone in the group while Daryl helped Rick inside by holding the door open for the man.

Once inside, the food was served and everyone had as much as they could eat before waiting a bit and having more.

Carol leaned back against the wall of the house and gave a happy laugh, "That chili was worth an award in my books."

Everyone laughed and agreed while Daryl simply sat with the pot and scraped the last of the chili from the sides and bottom. Lori was happy and content, finally feeling as though she weren't slowly starving to death while she watched her husband and son with full bellies.

Once they had felt capable of moving, having all stuffed themselves with so much food that none of them could stand up let alone walk, they redistributed the supplies into the different vehicles and began searching for a place to stay that would be safe and that could be their home.


End file.
